The power of Ronald K. Brown’s choreography lies in its myriad layers. There are the undulating bodies that form strong diagonal lines, which suddenly dissipate as dancers drift across the stage like mist. There is his agile use of stillness that subtly brushes the surface of raw emotions. And there is the undeniable way his propulsive movement crosses beyond the stage. Yes, this is the rare choreographer who makes you want to get up and dance.

In the first of two programs presented at the Joyce Theater on Tuesday, Mr. Brown showed what a sophisticated artist he has become since forming his company, Evidence, in 1985. Just as his dances are anchored by traces, or evidence, of African lineage, they also evoke a feeling of passage. Some journeys are more major than others, but they all conjure a poetic sense of transformation.

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Ms. Roberts in “She Is Here.”CreditAndrea Mohin/The New York Times

“She Is Here,” a premiere set to music by Andy Gonzalez, is brief but potent. Dedicated to the legacy of mothers and teachers, it features Annique Roberts, a glorious dancer who moves with such liquid abandon that her body seems directed not by positions but by air. This solo has a slipperiness but it’s not timid. Like Ms. Roberts, it has grit.

Wearing a dress by Keiko Voltaire with a long, pale green chiffon skirt, Ms. Roberts takes possession of the stage in breezy sideway steps that pull her forward and back in sinuous patterns. Despite her suppleness there’s a tenacity about her as she crosses from one side of the stage to the other, in the end disappearing into the wings. She floats in; she floats out.

Another solo, “For You” (2003), set to Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You,” showcases Kirven Douthit-Boyd, formerly of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Created in the memory of Stephanie Reinhart, who co-directed the American Dance Festival, this portrait of grief — complete with a row of white carnations placed on the stage — is too obvious, too imploring.

There’s more depth in the works bookending the program: “High Life” (2001) begins with a slave auction, harsh and hauntingly staged; “Torch” (2013) features, again, the luminous Ms. Roberts who climbs onto the shoulders of her fellow dancers before falling into their arms and emerging as the dance’s guiding light. It’s only fitting.